Government Sites
Pension Plans
General Contacts
Medicare
Compliance
USERRA
Flexible Spending Accounts
Professional Development
Health & Rx Resources
Comparison Tools
Useful Links for Employees and Other Consumers
Perspectives to Think About
Other
Government Sites
General
Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) were created by the Medicare bill signed by President Bush on December 8, 2003 and are designed to help individuals save for future qualified medical and retiree health expenses on a tax-free basis. This U.S. Dept. of the Treasury website provides basic information, frequently asked questions, and technical guidance.
http://www.treasury.gov/offices/public-affairs/hsa/index.html
Link to IRS Publication 15-B, "Employer's Guide to Fringe Benefits." This summarizes tax exclusion and valuation rules, and rules for withholding and reporting for benefits provided in 2007.
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p15b.pdf
Pension Plans
For a listing of Internal Revenue Service published guidance concerning retirement plans January, 2007 - March, 2007, including Treasury Regulations, Revenue Rulings, Revenue Procedures, Notices and Publications.
http://www.irs.gov/retirement/content/0,,id=96685,00.html
Pension Plan Limits for 2007
http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=163616,00.html
COLA Increases
http://www.irs.gov/retirement/article/0,,id=96461,00.html
The Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA), signed into law on August 17, 2006, is the most sweeping pension legislation in over 30 years and includes a number of significant tax incentives to enhance and protect retirement savings for millions of Americans.
http://www.irs.gov/retirement/article/0,,id=165131,00.html
General Contacts
The U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives websites provide current information regarding calendars and meeting schedules, legislative and committee activities, and helpful links to specific information. The U.S. Supreme Court website provides both general and detailed information regarding the Court, the Justices and the docket, as well as links to the U.S. Constitution and other historical documents.
http://www.senate.gov
http://www.house.gov
http://www.supremecourtus.gov
Medicare
Medicare Q&A Weekly Column
The Kaiser Family Foundation produces a weekly Q&A column that will be distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services explaining the basics of the new Medicare prescription drug benefit. The columns provide consumer-oriented information with helpful advice for people on Medicare and their families as the drug benefit goes into effect. http://www.kff.org/medicare/QA/index.cfm
Medicare home page
http://www.medicare.gov/Default.asp
Your Medicare Handbook 2007
http://www.medicare.gov/spotlights.asp#medicare2007
Compliance
COBRA -- The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA) is a federal law applicable to employers with 20 or more employees. In 2004, The U.S. Dept. of Labor released two updated model notices to be provided to plan participants. The Model General Notice must be provided at the time of initial enrollment in the plan and the Model Election Notice at the time of a Qualifying Event.
Model General Notice
Model Election Notice
Other -- HIPAA Portability Provisions, The Newborns' and Mothers' Health Protection Act, The Women's Health and Cancer Rights Act, and The Mental Health Parity Act
Compliance Assist Guide
USERRA
Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) information by the U.S. Dept. of Labor for employers and reservists, including rights and responsibilities, USERRA-FMLA Q & A, USERRA Resource Guide, and notification poster http://www.dol.gov/vets/programs/userra
USERRA poster.pdf
Flexible Spending Accounts
On May 24, 2006 the IRS published proposed regulations in the Federal Register for dependent care expenses under a Flexible Spending Account Dependent Care Assistance Program (DCAP). The proposed regulations address what expenses may qualify for reimbursement under a DCAP and may be used right away. The proposed regulations also impact what expenses may qualify for the dependent care tax credit. A link to the proposed regulations is provided below.
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2006/pdf/E6-7390.pdf
Professional Development -- Are you ready for a challenge? Don't you want to be more a more valuable asset to your employer?
Certified Employee Benefit Specialist (CEBS) is the premier certification in employee benefits and is now the industry’s only designation in total compensation. You can establish yourself as a total compensation professional by attaining the CEBS designation, or earn specialty designations in
- Group benefits (GBA)
- Retirement plans (RPA)
- Compensation management (CMS)
In the U.S., CEBS is cosponsored by the International Foundation and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and in Canada the International Foundation shares the honor with Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia—all industry leaders in employee benefit and compensation education.
http://www.cebs.org
Health & Rx Resources
DrugDigest is a noncommercial, evidence-based, consumer health and drug information site dedicated to empowering consumers to make informed choices about drugs and treatment options. You can also make your own medication/emergency contact card.
http://www.drugdigest.org/DD/Home
KaiserEDU.org is designed to provide students, faculty and others interested in learning about health policy easy access to the latest data, research, analysis, and developments in health policy. This site includes narrated slide tutorials, background reference libraries, and issue modules on current topics and policy debates.
http://www.kaiseredu.org
Comparison Tools
NCQA ratings for health plans & providers
http://www.healthchoices.org
U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services (HHS) hospital quality comparison tool
http://www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov
Useful Links for Employees and Other Consumers
EBIA's free tax savings calculator allows your employees to estimate their tax savings by participating in your benefit plans, such as a 401(k) plan, Flexible Spending Accounts and a cafeteria plan.
http://www.ebia.com/OtherOfferings/TaxCalculator
"Consumer Guides for Getting & Keeping Health Insurance" for each state and the District of Columbia written by Georgetown Health Policy Institute. The guides summarize protections.
http://www.healthinsuranceinfo.net
This website helps individuals & families get a realistic picture of their health care costs and then to plan ahead.
http://www.familyhealthbudget.com/fhbnet/default.aspx
Helpful claim appeals tips.
http://www.healthclaimappeals.org/home.html
Perspectives to Think About
The following are links to lobbying organizations presenting different perspectives intended to inform and provoke discussion. I am not advocating their positions, simply providing links to their websites. If you check out the websites, please let me know if you think their positions have merit.
The National Conference of State Legislatures is a bipartisan organization that is an effective and respected advocate for the interests of state governments before Congress and federal agencies.
http://www.ncsl.org/index.htm
The Center for Studying Health System Change is a nonpartisan policy research organization that designs and conducts studies focused on the U.S. health care system to inform the thinking and decisions of policy makers in government and private industry.
http://www.hschange.org
Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) is a nonprofit organization of physicians, medical students, and other health care professionals that support a national health insurance (NHI) program. Specifically, PNHP believes that a single-payer system (where the government finances health care, but keeps the delivery of health care to mostly private control) is the only solution to solving the United States' many health care problems.
http://www.pnhp.org
Other
BenefitsLink provides free daily newsletters via email for welfare and retirement plans, as well as message boards and more.
http://benefitslink.com/index.html
|
